Broken
by DreaT87
Summary: Darby Tate just needed an escape, somewhere to feel free, so she found it.
1. Chapter 1

Leaving was the hardest thing I had ever done. Dallas was my home, the place I'd lived my entire life, but I'd gotten in too deep. I had lost who I was and regardless of where he was, I needed to be far away from the grand state of Texas. That would be how I ended up in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. I told no one but my family where I was going, I couldn't risk him finding me when he got out.

My lake house was big, old, and in desperate need of a pick-me-up that would have to wait until I at least somewhat resembled a normal human being. The shiner and the casted arm I was sporting seemed to bring in too many unwanted questions in the overly friendly town. However, I was in desperate need of food, so for the first time since I'd gotten there a week ago, I left my new home. With my black eye covered with at least a pound of makeup, I began the bike ride up to the grocery store for some more simple foods. It was standing in the back of the store, struggling to put a small container of orange juice in my little hand basket, that I met him.

"Do you need any help," He said from behind me, causing me to jump and drop my orange juice.

"Dammit. No, I'm fine. I just need to get a new thing of oj now." I took a deep, calming breath in an attempt to calm my racing heart. He was tall, much taller than my five foot frame. He also appeared to be more than just solid muscle, in fact, I was very willing to bet that he had almost no fat on his body. He shook his head at my refusal and grabbed a pint of oj for me before taking my basket off of my casted elbow so that the orange juice would fit.

"You're welcome." He turned around and started to walk away from me.

"Thank you," I called back softly. I saw him look over his shoulder and smile softly before continuing to walk away. I shook my head and finished my shopping as well as I could before checking out. I was arranging everything in my little basket when he walked out the doors.

"Need some more help," He asked kindly.

"What is up with you damn Canadians and helping people," I mumbled as I looked up from the task at hand. "Oh, um, sorry. Don't mean to sound rude."

"Are you really going to try and bike home with your groceries and a broken arm?" I nodded.

"I did it just fine the other day, I'm sure I can handle it now."

"Look, just let me give you a ride home. It'll help me feel better about scaring you so badly earlier." I blushed at the memory of my easy scare. The psychiatrist had said that I would probably have involuntary scares like that for a while. I sighed deeply and then nodded. He grinned and grabbed the items from my bike's basket before slipping the bike into the back of his Range Rover.

"Thank you," I said as I slid into the front seat. He half-smiled and shrugged.

"It's no problem. Now, where are we going?" I gave him the address and prayed that he knew where I was located because I was certain that I wasn't going to be able to remember how to get back. He gave me a look and then smiled again. "We're neighbors!"

"Huh," I asked, snapping out of my thoughts.

"I said, we're neighbors! I live about three houses down from you." I thought carefully back to the other houses by the lake. Most of them were huge and almost obnoxiously nice. Mine was honestly a dump next to the other beautiful homes.

"That's cool," I mumbled. He looked away nervously, obviously feeling the tension. He soon rolled to a stop outside of my little lake house. He helped me unload the bike and carried my groceries through the door once I had it unlocked.

"Nice place you've got," He said, looking around. I shrugged my shoulders. The place was still pretty dirty from the years of being unoccupied.

"It'll be nice. I've just got to put some elbow grease into it."

"Well, if you need any help at all, I'm three houses that way," He said, pointing in the general direction of his home.

"I'll let you know. Thank you, um, I'm sorry. What's your name?"

"Sidney."

"I'm Darby. It was nice to meet you, and thank you again for helping me out."

"No problem." And with that, he left. I put everything away before plopping down on the old sofa. I had a lot of work to do on this place, but it could wait until tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

After a quick cup of coffee the next morning, I was off to the hardware store. The house desperately needed new paint and a good cleaning inside and out. After a fairly quick bike ride, I was standing at the paint sample area, trying to choose between the many different colors. I already knew that I wanted bright, happy colors in every room. I was definitely looking forward to escaping the eternal dark cloud that had hung over my head for the last 5 years of my life. I was stuck between a coral and a turquoise for the living room when I felt a presence behind me. I spun around quickly and bumped into a hard stomach.

"You're pretty jumpy aren't you Darby?" I looked up at the familiar face.

"And you, seem to have a habit of sneaking up on people."

"It's not a habit if I've only done it once."

"I think this is twice now that you've scared me to the point of dropping things."

"What'd you drop this time?" I pointed to the floor, where the two paint chips I had been comparing were laying. "Ah, well, my apologies. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I guess I can forgive you, but only, if you help me pick out the color for my living room. I'm stuck between these two," I said, reaching and picking up the samples from the floor.

"You want me to help you pick out colors for the house?"

"No, the living room. I already have a color for the outside of the house," I said, showing him the sunny yellow I had chosen.

"Yellow?"

"I've always liked the way yellow houses look in the snow. I thought it'd be wonderful for a house in Canada."

"So you'll be staying through the winter?"

"Not like I have anywhere else to go. This is home now. This is where I'm going to stay."

"You're going to need a lot done to that old house to get it in shape for the winter."

"Thank you Captain Obvious, that would be why I'm here."

"It's gonna take more than a couple coats of paint to make it good for winter, you know," He said, raising an eyebrow.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I suggest you let me help you get ready for the winter. Otherwise, you're going to be shivering in the cold."

"Fine, what do I need to do?"

"Well first, you need to pick out some paint so we can make you feel more comfortable." I grinned and held up the two colors again.

"So, coral, or turquoise?"

"Ugh, I guess that one," He said, pointing to the coral. I grinned and took all the samples I would need over to the mixing counter. "Were you expecting me to show up and help?"

"Nah," I shrugged. "Just figured I'd have to buy only a couple cans at a time, but since you're helping me, I can get some extra!"

"And what makes you think I'll be taking you home again?" I pretended to think for a moment.

"Hmm, maybe because we're headed in the same direction and you're a nice Canadian boy who was raised right."

"I guess you're right. Now c'mon, let's grab some brushes and get back to your place so we can start painting."

"Hold on! I still need to get some cleaning supplies! It's still kind of gross in there." He shook his head and followed me dutifully, helping me carry everything through the store. Once everything was purchased, he once again helped me load it all into his SUV, along with my bike.

This time, I had him back into the driveway. I unlocked my door while he set my bike down and grabbed a couple cans of paint. I directed him to set the paint down on the kitchen table while I grabbed whatever I could from the car. Once everything was brought in, I stood awkwardly in front of Sidney.

"Um, I'm going to change into some paint clothes. I might have something that will fit you if you want it. Just so you don't get your nice clothes dirty?" He nodded, his slight smile faltering a bit. I ran up to my room, digging a pair of gym shorts and an old t-shirt from my 'heavy' days out of a random box. I crossed my fingers while I changed into my favorite pair of running shorts and a tank top before I rushed back down the stairs, praying that he hadn't been too bored while I'd been digging through boxes.

"Here you go," I said, tossing the clothes at Sidney. He sighed in relief as he noticed the clothes were pretty noticeably mine and not another man's. "I hope they fit. They're from before I lost weight so, you never know."

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Where's the bathroom?"

"Um, there's one right over there," I said, pointing towards the hallway on the other side of the living room.

"Thanks." I took a deep breath, attempting to calm my nerves. This was the closest I'd been to a man that wasn't a doctor or a member of my family in months. After about a minute or so, Sidney emerged from the bathroom, wearing my clothes. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I can't believe they actually fit."

"They're a bit short don't you think," He asked, chuckling along with me.

"Nah, I think they're great. Just fantastic." He rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips.

"Let's get to painting! Where do you want to start?" I thought for a minute and then looked around.

"The living room? It'll be the easiest." He nodded before moving into the other room to start moving the furniture out of the way. While he was doing that, I popped open the coral paint and stirred it around a little. "You ready in there?"

"Bring it on!"


End file.
